In brief
You want to surf, you want to get started, you want to improve, but you don’t know much! No stress, by reading this article, you will learn how to choose your surfing spot to start and progress smoothly.
1st RULE: You shall seek peaceful waves.
When we start surfing, we should privilege a very particular type of wave: the so-called “soft” waves. Indeed, these waves have the particularity to be slow to break, not very steep, and often quite long. That’s exactly what you need to be able to progress quickly by offering an important gliding time.
2nd RULE: You shall prefer a surf spot with few people.
When you’re starting out, you need to maximize your time on the waves in your session. And to maximize your time on the waves, you have to take some. So, the more the spot will be quiet in terms of frequentation, the more your chances to have the priority on the waves and to be able to take some will be big. It is also necessary to prioritize the spots with few people for security reasons. Indeed, when you start, you are rarely sure to succeed in your take-offs, you should not add to this pressure the pressure of having to control your board in a crowded spot. Don’t hesitate to go walk on a more distant and quiet spot.
3rd RULE: You shall aim for a surf spot near your place.
When you’re starting out, you need to maximize your practice time. Travel time tends to reduce your practice time, so it is important to find a spot not far from home, to spend time in the water and not on the road. Moreover, the closer the spot will be to your home, the more you will go, and the more you will know how it works. This frequenting of the same spot will allow you to build skills on a place that doesn’t move too much, and moreover, it will also be the opportunity to make new friends, or not…
For people living in remote areas, no worries. You can still find a river spot where the current and terrain conditions create a wave. Alternatively, we recommend checking online to see if there's a wavehouse (like the Glassy House in St Gilles-Croix-de-Vie) or a wavegarden not too far from your location, you never know.
